Police on Alert for Clinic Attacks

Police throughout the state were told to be especially alert for antiabortion violence over the Memorial Day weekend after the third set of acid attacks on clinics in the state in a week, state agents said. “Whoever is doing this may be taking advantage of this quiet weekend to hit a lot of clinics. Local law enforcement has been advised,” said Fred Hobbs, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee. On Saturday, workers at clinics in St. Petersburg and Clearwater called police to report that someone had drilled small holes into the buildings’ doors and sprayed a noxious substance inside. Investigators determined that the substance was butyric acid, which had been used in attacks at five clinics in Miami on Thursday and three attacks on clinics in Orlando and the Daytona Beach area last weekend.